When did it all start? He would never know for sure, although he traces it, like a finger on a map following the broad river back to the invisible thread of the beginnings, to one evening early winter.

It is extremely cold and snow cover the plains as the heroes notice the dead frozen people hanging from the branches of scattered trees along the road. Ahead they see the local Lords soldiers hanging them up, mercilessly throwing buckets of water on their naked unprotected bodies until they freeze.

Every item does not need to be POWERFUL... EXOTIC... MYTHIC, but it does need to be interesting or useful. After all, if the item is not useful in some way.... why did anyone take the time and materials to make it?

In the vast Sun-Ocean lies spots of perfect green. The Ankorillian Islands. The 'Jewels of the Blue'.
The natives there are strange and wild looking.
Here is the only existing work on how they live, their customs, beliefs and rituals.

A Vampire hunter.

Here is a list of those not-so-attractive treasures that the PC's might find on their quests.